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It's been a bit of a hiatus since my last blog post, but I'll go on ahead and jump right in with this one.

This episode continues what I've always personally thought of as a "trio" of episodes that really put LOST on its tracks for the rest of the series. Sure, the show had been fantastic up to this point, but these three episodes (Solitary, Raised by Another, and All the Best Cowboys have Daddy Issues) started putting in new mysteries galore, introduced the constant concept of other people on the Island (save for the french transmission from Pilot, Part II) and, as I explained in my last blog post, really started to give the show "that great LOST feel.

It's interesting to ponder why this is. Perhaps it was that Lindelof and Abrams tried to give a real punch to the writing of what they knew would be their last episodes together. That's my personal favorite theory. Or maybe a polar bear sent them ideas via the DHARMA intranet. Who knows?

I decided I would use this particular entry to address the issue of the characters and story of LOST: Via Domus. Now, I played through the entire game, enjoyed seeing the characters and locations we know, and felt the twist at the end was satisfyingly befitting of LOST. However, it quickly became very apparent to me, as it is to anybody who has played the game, that the story of that game does not coincide with the actual story of LOST. So, naturally, since I wanted Elliot Maslow to be on the plane in the actual continuity, I tried to think of some way to reconcile the two.

The eventual conclusion I came up with was this: somehow, Elliot differed from all the rest of the survivors when the plane passed through the "barrier" around the Island. Perhaps this is in a similar way as Desmond - maybe the briefcase received by Savo contained some sort of highly radioactive materials that affected Elliot, or perhaps he encountered it in a different way.

In any event, when the plane passed through the Island's barrier, Elliot was placed into a different reality temporarily when he blacked out from turbulence. In this reality, he was being chased by Savo with Beady Eyes on the plane, Lisa was dead, and events on the Island played out differently than in the normal continuity. The purpose of this alternate reality was to provide Elliot with a journey of self discovery, to show him the true awful person he had become. Once he realized this and was able to put somebody else ahead of his goals (saving Jack and Kate at the Black Rock) he was allowed to return to the normal reality in which Lisa was spared. The plane he saw flying over the Island at the end of the game was the real Oceanic 815 crashing as it was supposed to, and him waking up at the crash site to survivor Lisa was in the normal reality.

Perhaps this all occurred in his mind as a journey from his conscience. However, I like to think that it actually was the Island sending him to an epiphany. I also cannot say whether or not he started out in the reality in which Lisa died, for it is entirely possible that the Island gave him a chance to redeem himself and sent him through dimensions as a reward for doing the right thing.

In any event, the final word is that I consider both Elliot Maslow and Lisa Gelhorn passengers of Flight 815, and I do not believe Beady Eyes was actually on the plane. As such, in my ever continuing quest to place as many background actors as possible on my list, I have chosen two of the background cast that best fit the characters appearance in the game.

The first I actually got from on here, Lostpedia. Going to the page for Elliot Maslow, it lists Rolf Burton as a likely inspiration for his character. Although the resemblance isn't shocking, per say, it's definitely there, and it's stronger there than with any other background cast member. Rolf Burton it is.

As for Lisa, I opted for one that's already actually made this list for the strength in resemblance. Well, either that, or the lack in strong resemblance for all the other background cast members. Take your pick. In any event, Ivana Michele Smith, better known as the N.D. Survivor, looks the most like her, and so takes the prize. The main problem with this is the fact that she is clearly seen wearing an outfit in the first episodde that is NOT what Lisa Gelhorn wears at the end of Via Domus, but I've decided to just overlook that detail.

"Hello there."

- Master Tej -

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